The dream of bringing pandas to the SF Zoo did not get London Breed reelected as mayor. And the reality of bringing pandas to the zoo is now in doubt with Breed gone, Mayor Lurie lukewarm to the idea, and a top zoo donor declaring full-throated opposition.
Mayor London Breed spent her 2024 reelection year trying like hell to bring a pair of pandas to the SF Zoo, which seemed perhaps a gimmicky sop for the Chinese-American vote, and a glib distraction from some of the city’s most pressing problems. But Breed did win a commitment from the Chinese government to get one or possibly two pandas, which she announced in the April 2024 video below, delivered with as much fake enthusiasm as Jennifer Garner in a Capital One commercial.
It’s happening: the pandas are coming to San Francisco!These Giant Pandas will honor our deep cultural connections and our Chinese and API heritage. They will bring residents and visitors from all over who come to visit them at the SF Zoo. pic.twitter.com/IInDO26QyI
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) April 19, 2024
There were political roadblocks and financial setbacks, but the zoo declared in late October that they’d lined up the $20 million they needed to build a proper panda habitat. But six days later, Breed lost her reelection bid, so the project’s biggest cheerleader was no longer around. It did not help that a scathing report from a city oversight commission called the SF Zoo “unsafe for visitors and animals,” “dilapidated,” and “crawling with rodents.” Ouch!…